Electrically operated embossing machine



Oct. 25, 1966 M. M. BROWN ELECTRICALLY OPERATED EMBOSSING MACHINE 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 30, 1965 FIG. 1.

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INVENTOR. M11- ran M BRon/A/ BY 19 /5 H770 A/E/a United States Patent3,280,955 7 ELECTRKIALLY OPERATED EMBOSSING MACHINE Milton M. Brown,Oakland, Calif, assignor to Dymo Industries, Inc, Emeryville, Calif., acorporation of California Filed Mar. 30, 1965, Ser. No. 444,002

3 Claims. (Cl. 197-67) The present invention relates generally toembossing machines and pertains, more specifically, to electricallyoperated embossing machines.

Embossing machines which make use of embossable material in the form ofan elongated strip have found wide acceptance in the fabrication ofembossed displays such as labels, signs, plates, tags and the like.Where such machines are put to relatively heavy use, it has been founddesirable and convenient to eliminate time consuming and fatiguingmanual operation and attain accurate and consistently high qualityembossments through the provision of electrically operated embossingmachines.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an electricallyoperated embossing machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrically operatedembossing machine which employs a single electrically operated actuatorand simplified means for operatively engaging the actuator with thevarious operating elements of the machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electrically operatedembossing machine incorporating flexibility and ease of operation whilemaintaining simplicity in design and construction.

The invention may be described briefly as an electrically operatedembossing machine including a frame, electrically operated means carriedby the frame, embossing means carried by the frame for establishingemboss ments on a strip of embossable material in response to actuationof the electrically operated means, cut-oft means carried by the framefor severing the strip in response to actuation of the electricallyoperated means, feed means carried by the frame for advancing the stripthrough the embossing means and the cut-off means in response toactuation of the electrically operated means, and selector means forallowing selective operation of either the embossing means or thecut-off means in response to actuation of the electrically operatedmeans, the selector means further permitting actuation of theelectrically operated means and consequent operation of the feed meanswithout operation of either the embossing means or the cut-off means.

The invention will be more fully understood and further objects andadvantages thereof will become apparent in the following detaileddescription of an embodiment of the invention illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an electrically operated embossingmachine constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partially schematic bottom plan view of the machine;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the machine taken alongline 3--3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary elevational end view illustrating a detail ofthe machine;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a detail of the feedmeans of the machine; and

FIGURES 6 through 8 are fragmentary sectional views showing likecomponents of the machine in different operating positions forillustrating details of operation of the machine.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURE "ice 1, anembossing machine is depicted generally at 10 and has a housing 12fitted over a frame 14, portions of which frame project through the topof the housing. A view of the exterior of the machine reveals theope-rating controls including an emboss key 16, a spacer key 18, acutolf key 20 and a character selector knob 22, the function andoperation of all of which controls will be explained hereinafter.

Turning now to FIGURES 2 through 5, embossing ma chine 10 is designed toemboss selected indicia on an elongated strip or tape of embossablematerial shown at 24. The tape 24 is supplied to machine 10 in amagazine 26 which is fixed in place beneath the housing and the frame asseen in FIGURES 2 and 3.

Embossing of the tape 24 is accomplished at an embossing station 28 byembossing means carried by the frame and which will be describedshortly. Subsequent to embossing, the tape may be severed by cut-offmeans located at a cut-off station 30 as will be described hereinafter.

In order to feed the tape 24 from magazine 26 and advance the tape alonga prescribed horizontal path through the embossing means and cut-offmeans, the tape is threaded from the magazine through a guide passage 32to a feed means which includes a feed roller 34 fixed for rotation witha feed roller shaft 36 which is journalled within support brackets 38and 40 which are mounted to the frame. Feed roller 34 is provided with ashoe 42, fabricated of a resilient material such as rubber, which shoeprojects through frame 14 into passage 32 to press tape 24 against thehousing 12 and thereby grip the tape so that rotation of the feed rollerin a counterclockwise direction (as seen in FIGURE 3) will ad- Vance thetape from the magazine toward the embossing station. Feed roller 34 isdriven incrementally in order to index tape 24 for each embossment, theincremental rotation being accomplished by pawl 44 engaging ratchetwheel 46 (see FIGURE 5) which is also fixed to shaft 36. Pawl 44 islinked to feed lever 48 which is integrally connected to 'a crank shaft50 supported for rotation by support brackets 40 and 52. Crank shaft 50may be rotated by crank 54 which is connected to the actuator arm 56 ofan electrically actuated means illustrated in the form of a solenoid 58through a connecting rod 60. Solenoid 58 may be actuated to operatethrough a full cycle including a linear advance stroke of arm 56 and areturn stroke of arm 56. As best seen in FIGURE 2, the electric circuitbetween line cord 62 and solenoid 58 may be completed by depressing theemboss key 16 which closes an electric switch 64 and causes actuation ofthe solenoid through the advance stroke to draw arm 56 to the left,thereby rotating the crank shaft 50 in a clockwise direction (FIGURES 3and 5) along with feed lever 48 which pulls pawl 44 downwardly allowingthe tooth of the pawl to slip along the surface of the ratchet wheelwithout engaging a tooth of the ratchet wheel and without rotationthereof. However, upon release of the emboss key 16, switch 64 is openedwith a consequent deenergizing of the solenoid and return of actuatorarm 56 toward the right in the return stroke to the original positionillustrated in FIGURE 3 and pawl 44, which is maintained against ratchetwheel 46 by a spring 66, engages a tooth of the ratchet wheel androtates the wheel thereby incrementally rotating feed roller 34 andindexing tape 24.

Embossing of the tape 24 is accomplished at the embossing station 28wherein there is located the embossing means shown in the form of anembossing die set 70 actuated by a vertically reciprocating plunger 72held in place within frame 14 by a leaf spring support 74 passingtherethrough. Die set 70 is one of a plurality of die sets located inthe periphery of selector wheel 76 which is rotatably mounted upon frame14 so that any one of the plurality of die sets can be located at theembossing station by rotation of selector knob 22 to enable theembossing of selected indicia in the tape 24. Selector wheel 76 is madeup of upper and lower disks 78 and 80, respectively, one of whichcarries the'die and the other of which carries the punch of each dieset. As seen in FIG- URE 1, the upper disk 78 is provided with visiblecharacters 82 on the outer face thereof corresponding to the indiciawhich can be embossed by the selectable die sets.

Tape 24 is passed between upper and lower disks 78 and 80 and thenembossed by depressing the emboss key 16 to energize the solenoid 58, asdescribed above, and rotate crank shaft 50 in a clockwise direction(FIGURE 3) thereby raising primary lever 84, which is integral with thecrank shaft, and consequently raising a secondary lever 86 (see FIGURE6), which is pivotally mounted to frame 14 by means of pin 88. Aninterposer 90 is slidably mounted upon secondary lever 86 and isprovided with a boss 92 which, in the normal position of the interposerillustrated in FIGURES 3 and 6, is located beneath the plunger 72 so asto engage the plunger and actuate the embossing die set as seen inFIGURE 6. Upon release of the emboss key, the actuator arm of thesolenoid is returned to the right and the secondary lever will belowered by the action of return spring 94, thereby allowing plunger 72to be returned to its normal position and held there by leaf springsupport 74. As the embossing operation is thus being completed, the tapewill be indexed one prescribed increment by the feed means as describedabove so that the tape will be ready for a subsequent embossingoperation.

When it is desired to index the tape without performing an embossingoperation, the spacer key 18 is depressed simultaneously with thedepression of the emboss key 16. Depression of the spacer key will causedownward displacement of a spacer cam 96 which is integral with thespacer key and which will engage a corresponding spacer follower 98fixed to the interposer 90 through an interposer link 100. As best seenin FIGURE 7, such downward displacement of the spacer cam and engagementof the spacer follower will slide the interposer to the left to a secondposition on the secondary lever 86 wherein the boss 92 is no longerlocated below the plunger 72 and will not engage the plunger when thesecondary lever is raised by the energizing of the solenoid. The drivingconnections between the solenoid and the feed means are undisturbed bythe depression of the spacer key, however, and the tape is advanced asbefore. Thus, simultaneous depression of the emboss and spacer keysaccomplishes indexing of the tape without the establishment of anembossment thereon.

In order to sever the already embossed strip from the tape remaining inthe machine, the emboss key 16 and the cut-off key are simultaneouslydepressed. Depression of the cut-off key will cause downwarddisplacement of cut-off cam 102 which is integral with the cutoff keyand which will engage a cut-off follower 104 also fixed to theinterposer 90 through interposer link 100. As best seen in FIGURE 8,such downward dis placement of the cut-01f cam and engagement of thecut-off follower will slide the interposer even further to the left to athird position on the secondary lever wherein a finger 106 which isprovided on a lower portion of the interposer 90 will be located above alateral rod 108 fixed between depending arms 110 of a cut-ofi yoke 112.The cut-off yoke 112 is mounted in the frame 14 for reciprocation in avertical direction and includes a lateral beam 114 wihch carries cuttingblades 116 and 118 and which is normally maintained in an uppermostposition shown in FIGURES 3, 6 and 7, by a spring 120.

Upon simultaneous depression of the emboss and cutoff keys, thesecondary lever is pivoted about pin 88 as before and finger 106 islowered to engage lateral rod 108 and draw cut-off yoke 112 downwardlyuntil cutting blades 116 and 118 are brought against a cutting anvil 122and the tape 24- is severed. In certain instances, tape 24 is actuallycomprised of upper and lower strips of material laminated to one anotherand it is desired to sever both strips at one point along the tape whilesevering only one strip at another adjacent point. Hence, two blades areillustrated, one for severing both strips, the other for severing onlyone strip. Thus, simultaneous depression of the emboss and cut-off keysaccomplishes severing of the tape without the establishment of anembossment thereon.

The spacer cam 96 and cut-oft" cam 102 are each provided with a slot 124and two guide pins 126 and 128 (see FIGURE 4) passing through each slotand fixed in the frame. The guide pins cooperate with their respectiveslots to define the path of the respective cams and place upper andlower limits upon the vertical travel of the cams. Thus, each cam cantravel vertically downwardly in response to the depression of acorresponding key until the upper extremity of its slot rests upon anupper pin 126. The cams are each resiliently biased upwardly by aninterposer link return spring 130 and will move upwardly, when theirrespective keys are released, until the lower extremity of each of theirrespective slots rests against a lower pin 128.

It will be appreciated that by enabling the interposer to be located inany one of three positions, each illustrated in FIGURES 68, a singleelectrically operated actuator, shown in the form of solenoid 58, may beemployed to accomplish embossing, spacing and severing of a tape in theelectrically operated embossing machine 10.

It is to be understood that the above detailed description of theinvention is presented by way of example only and is not intended tolimit the invention. Various details in design and construction may bemodified Without departing from the true spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. An electrically operated embossing machine comprising:

a frame;

electrically operated means carried by said frame for operation througha cycle including an advance stroke and a return stroke;

embossing means carried by the frame for establishing embossments on astrip of embossable material in response to the advance stroke;

cut-off means carried by the frame for severing the strip in response tothe advance stroke;

feed means carried by the frame for advancing the strip through theembossing and cut-off means in response to the return stroke; interposermeans capable of being selectively located in either a first positionfor engaging the electrically operated means with the embossing means toactuate said embossing means during the advance stroke, a third positionfor engaging the electrically operated means with the cut-off means toactuate said cut-off means during the advance stroke, or a secondposition for engaging neither the embossing means nor the cut-off meansto allow only actuation of the feed means during the return stroke;

means for selectively locating said interposer means at 'any one of saidfirst, second or third positions; and

means for actuating said electrically operated means when the interposermeans is located .at any one of said first, second and third positionsfor selectively accomplishing embossing, indexing and severing of thestrip, respectively.

2. An electrically operated embossing machine of claim 1 wherein saidelectrically operated means comprises a single solenoid.

3. An electrically operated embossing machine comprising:

a frame;

an embossing station in said frame;

6 a selector wheel having .a plurality of die sets along movement inresponse to actuation of the solenoid; the periphery thereof and beingmounted for rotatan interposer mounted upon said lever and movable tionon said frame such that a selected die set may along the lever to anyone of first, second and third be positioned at said embossing station;horizontally spaced positions such that when the feed means foradvancing a strip of embossable ma- 5 interposer is in said firstposition, pivotal moveterial along a fixed horizontal path through thedie ment of the lever during the advance stroke of the set positioned atthe embossing station, said feed solenoid will engage the interposerwith the plunger means including a feed roller mounted for rotaandactuate the embossing die set, when the intertion on said frame forengaging and gripping the poser is in said third position pivotalmovement strip, a ratchet Wheel associated with the feed roller 10 ofthe lever during the :advance stroke will engage for rotation therewithand a pawl for engaging the the interposer with the cut-off yoke andactuate the ratchet wheel and driving the ratchet wheel and cut-01fblade, and When the interposer is in saidsecond the feed roller inpredetermined increments; position the interposer will engage neitherthe plunger a solenoid mounted on said frame for operation through northe yoke during the advance stroke of the a complete cycle including anadvance stroke and solenoid; a return stroke and linked to said pawlsuch that means for selectively locating the interposer at any uponactuation of the solenoid through a complete o e of said first, secondand third positions during cycle, the advance stroke will index the pawland actuation of said solenoid, and the return stroke Will rotate theratchet Wheel an means for actuating said solenoid when the interposerfeed roller through said increment; is located at any one of said first,second and third 3 Plungfir mountfid Vertical reciprocatingmOVepositions for selectively accomplishing embossing,

ment in said frame at the embossing station below indexing d severing ofthe stri res ectively. said path for actuating the die set positioned atthe embossing station upon movement vertically up- References Cited ythe Examine! f fy; k t d f t 1 t UNITED STATES PATENTS a cut-o yo e moune or ver ica reciproca mg movement in said frame and including at leastone blade gg gl above said path and displaced horizontally beyond theembossingstation tor severing the strip upon ROBERT E- PULFREY, PrimaryExaminer movement vertlcally downwardly; a generally horizontal leverpivotally mounted to said E. S. BURR, Asszstant Examiner.

frame between the plunger and the yoke for pivotal

1. AN ELECTRICALLY OPERATED EMBOSSING MACHINE COMPRISING: A FRAME; ELECTRICALLY OPERATED MEANS CARRIED BY SAID FRAME FOR OPERATION THROUGH A CYCLE INCLUDING AN ADVANCE STROKE AND A RETURN STROKE; EMBOSSING MEANS CARRIED BY THE FRAME FOR ESTABLISHING EMBOSSMENTS ON A STRIP OF EMBOSSABLE MATERIAL IN RESPONSE TO THE ADVANCE STROKE; CUT-OFF MEANS CARRIED BY THE FRAME FOR SEVERING THE STRIP IN RESPONSE TO THE ADVANCE STROKE; FEED MEANS CARRIED BY THE FRAME FOR ADVANCING THE STRIP THROUGH THE EMBOSSING AND CUT-OFF MEANS IN RESPONSE TO THE RETURN STROKE; INTERPOSER MEANS CAPABLE OF BEING SELECTIVELY LOCATED IN EITHER A FIRST POSITION FOR ENGAGING THE ELECTRICALLY OPERATED MEANS WITH THE EMBOSSING MEANS TO ACTUATE SAID EMBOSSING MEANS DURING THE ADVANCE STROKE, A THIRD POSITION FOR ENGAGING THE ELECTRICALLY OPERATED MEANS WITH THE CUT-OFF MEANS TO ACTUATE SAID CUT-OFF MEANS DURING THE ADVANCE STROKE, OR A SECOND POSITION FOR ENGAGING NEITHER THE EMBOSSING MEANS NOR THE CUT-OFF MEANS TO ALLOW ONLY ACUTATION OF THE FEED MEANS DURING THE RETURN STROKE; MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY LOCATING SAID INTERPOSER MEANS AT ANY ONE OF SAID FIRST, SECOND OR THIRD POSITIONS; AND MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID ELECTRICALLY OPERATED MEANS WHEN THE INTERPOSER MEANS IS LOCATED AT ANY ONE OF SAID FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD POSITIONS FOR SELECTIVELY ACCOMPLISHING EMBOSSING, INDEXING AND SEVERING OF THE STRIP, RESPECTIVELY. 